Judah in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE

|| I. CANAAN BEFORE THE MONARCHY 1. The Coming of the Semites 2. The Canaanites 3. The Israelite Confederacy 4. Migration into Canaan 5. The Bond of Union 6. Early Rulers 7. The Judges 8. Hereditary Kings II. THE FIRST THREE KINGS 1. The Benjamite King 2. Rachel and Leah Tribes 3. The Disruption III. THE DUAL MONARCHY 1. War between Two Kingdoms 2. First Reform of Religion 3. Two Kingdoms at Peace 4. Two Kingdoms Contrasted 5. Revolution in the Northern Kingdom 6. Effect on the Southern Kingdom 7. Davidic House at Lowest Ebb 8. Begins to Recover 9. Reviving Fortunes 10. Monarchy Still Elective 11. Government by Regents 12. Period of Great Prosperity 13. Rise of Priestly Caste 14. Advent of Assyria 15. Judah a Protectorate 16. Cosmopolitan Tendencies IV. PERIOD OF DECLINE 1. Judah Independent 2. Reform of Religion 3. Egypt and Judah 4. Traffic in Horses 5. Reaction under Manasseh 6. Triumph of Reform Party 7. Babylonia and Judah 8. End of Assyrian Empire 9. After Scythian Invasion 10. Judah Again Dependent 11. Prophets Lose Influence 12. The Deportations 13. Summary I. Canaan before the Monarchy. 1. The Coming of the Semites: Some 4,000 years BC the land on either side of the valley of the Jordan was peopled by a race who, to whatever stock they belonged, were not Semites. It was not until about the year 2500 BC that the tide of Sere immigration began to flow from North Arabia into the countries watered by the Jordan and the Euphrates. One of the first waves in this human tide consisted of the Phoenicians who settled in the Northwest, on the seashore; they were closely followed by other Canaan tribes who occupied the country which long bore their name. 2. The Canaanites: The Canaanites are known to us chiefly from the famous letters found at Tell Amarna in Egypt which describe the political state of the country during the years 1415-1360 BC--the years of the reigns of Amenophis III and IV. Canaan was at this time slipping out of the hands of Egypt. The native princes were in revolt: tribute was withheld; and but few Egyptian garrisons remained. Meantime a fresh tide of invasion was hurling its waves against the eastern frontiers of the land. The newcomers were, like their predecessors, Semitic Bedouin from the Syrian desert. Among them the Tell el-Amarna Lettersname the Chabiri, who are, no doubt, the people known to us as the Hebrews. 3. The Israelite Confederacy: The Hebrews are so named by those of other nationality after one of their remoter ancestors (Gen 10:24), or because they had come from beyond (`ebher) the Jordan or the Euphrates. Of themselves they spoke collectively as Israel. Israel was a name assumed by the eponymous hero of the nation whose real name was Jacob. Similarly the Arabian prophet belonged to the tribe called from its ancestor Koraish, whose name was Fihr. The people of Israel were a complex of some 12 or 13 tribes. These 12 tribes were divided into two main sections, one section tracing its descent...